It was the first home loss for JMU in 17 NCAA tournament or NIT games, though Tarik Hislop led the Dukes with 26 points.

In a fast-paced game, January Miller’s basket gave the Gators the lead to stay at 81-80.

JMU’s Jazmon Gwathmey grabbed an offensive rebound but missed two free throws with 27 seconds remaining, and the Gators' Jaterra Bonds went 4-for-4 on free throws in the late stages — sandwiching those foul shots around a missed 3-pointer by Hislop.

The Dukes, who lose just two seniors (Hislop and Kanita Shepherd), finished 25-11, their eighth consecutive season with at least 24 victories.

The Gators (22-14) advance to a semifinal Wednesday in the 64-team event. They will play at JMU's CAA rival Drexel(26-10), which shut down Auburn in the first half and went on to beat the host Tigers 56-43.

Hollie Mershon scored 19 points for the Dragons, which scored 10 consecutive points for a 10-5 lead and never trailed again. It was 30-12 at halftime, and 47-26 was the biggest lead for Drexel, which specializes in tempo control, half-court offensive efficiency and hard-nosed defense.

Auburn thus finished at 19-15 in its first season with Hampton native Terri Williams-Flournoy as coach, improving from 13-17 last year.

"We're a much better team than we showed," Williams-Flournoy said, echoing the comments of many Drexel opponents.

Men

VCU sharpshooting senior Troy Daniels was selected to play in the Reese's College All-Star Game in Atlanta during the Final Four weekend.